Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson bring a lot of humor to their roles on Comedy Central’s Broad City. Glazer plays maybe the most confident character on television and someone who is totally and completely content with who she is as an individual. Jacobson’s Abbi is more reserved, quieter, but no less funny, especially when the show utilizes her bizarre and stiff physical comedy (for example, watch her performance of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory”). However, the characters always work best when they show just how close (too close?) the two girls are in their friendship, and that they are ready to do whatever it takes to help one another out in tricky or embarrassing situations. To celebrate that epic friendship, here are five times when Broad City fans were more than a little envious of Abbi and Ilana’s relationship
A Shot of Adrenaline
This isn’t the last moment from the season one finale that will show up on this list, which is only a testament to how good the episode was as a whole. The majority of the episode takes place as Ilana takes Abbi out for her 26th birthday, ordering seafood despite an intense shellfish allergy. Her excuse is that they’ve gone out to a fancy restaurant and it would be wasteful if she didn’t belly up to the best meals the place had to offer even as her face continues to swell. Ilana eventually surpasses what her body is able to handle as her throat starts to close, forcing Abbi to Hulk out and carry her friend from the restaurant thanks to the adrenaline burst she got from accidentally stabbing herself with Ilana’s EpiPen.
I don’t know what’s a bigger sign of friendship, Ilana putting her body through turmoil for a night out with her best friend or Abbi’s feat of strength.
Meet Val
“I’m your main squeeze?”
I mean, was there really ever any doubt?
After spending an episode dealing with the fact that she might be missing out on big life events without being aware of it, Ilana finds herself in a smoky, underground jazz club with a black out drunk Abbi that is apparently also known as, Val.
Val is a boozy, sultry, raspy-voiced singer, and a personality Abbi adopts only when she’s gotten to a certain level of inebriation. Despite partially forgetting who she is, Abbi still recognizes that Ilana is her one and only, platonic soulmate, though.
Say it with me now, “Awwwwww!”
Wisdom Teeth
We can’t say that Ilana is the most responsible human being in the world and Abbi entrusting her to keep an eye on her after getting her wisdom teeth removed seems a bit foolish, but is there anyone in the world more dedicated to taking better care of her? That’s an important question, but not as important as this one: Who’s a better Abbi-persona, Val or her Drew Barrymore impression?
Matt and Ben
Even Abbi and Ilana’s fights are enviable. They also push them toward new bizarre adventures and nights of debauchery that will make a fantastic story. In this case, they’ve found themselves essentially homeless and pepper-sprayed. Despite the near constant bickering as Ilana continues to accidentally sabotage Abbi’s night, they still stick through it. They even try to explain it all away, spinning their night so that it seems like some sort of success story instead of an undeniable failure.
Sharing Hospital Beds
The season one finale of Broad City wasn’t only an episode that highlighted everything great and fresh about the series, but it also showed the two girls at their closest. Abbi has said in the show that there is literally nothing she doesn’t know about Ilana, and the series began with Ilana video calling Abbi while she was having sex. This is a friendship without any borders, and we get an example of this in season one’s closing moments. First there are the two girls cuddling close on Ilana’s hospital bed. Abbi had hurt her hand and was coming down from the EpiPen adrenaline while Ilana’s face was finally returning to form after the shellfish debacle, and all they need is one another’s company. Not content to end on such a sweet note, the episode instead ends with a glimpse of the two girls walking home in the early hours of the morning, laughing at one another as they talked about the worst people that they would sleep with.
We all should have people in our lives who will sit with us when we’re sick, remember our bond when we bicker, accept our shortcomings and eccentricities, and above all else, waste time with us and discuss the silly mundane bits of life. Just like Abbi and Ilana have.